cove

/koʊv/

/kəʊv/

Other forms: coves

A cove is a small, sheltered part of an ocean's coast. A cove can be a good place to put a sea kayak in the water and start paddling along the shore.

A cove is basically the same thing as a "bay," but smaller. Coves are protected coastal areas affected by tides and connected to the open sea by a narrow entrance. The water in a cove is calmer than the open ocean, and the cove itself is often oval or circular in shape. The earliest meaning of cove was "den or cave," and later "small bay," probably influenced by a Scottish meaning of the word, "hollow place in coastal rocks."

Definitions of cove

1. noun

   a small inlet
   types:

   lough

   a long narrow (nearly landlocked) cove in Ireland

   type of:

   inlet, recess

   an arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands)
2. noun

   small or narrow cave in the side of a cliff or mountain
   type of:

   cave

   a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea